Satsangs

Satsang is a compound Sanskrit word that means “keeping the company of the Self.” The Self, Awareness, is the true nature of everyone and one keeps company with it by continually meditating on it in many ways. One of the most effective methods involves discussing non-dual teachings with someone who has realized his or her identity as the Self, to get clarity with reference to Self inquiry. The satsangs posted here are the questions of many people around the world who are interested in enlightenment and find that Vedanta is their preferred means of Self knowledge. Since I am a teacher of Vedanta, a time tested means of self inquiry, I am qualified to reply to these questions.~James Swartz

ShiningWorld Reader

Sara: Now the “wake-up
call” for me is that I used the wrong and misleading word.

Sundari: It is interesting to see how unconsciously we use
words without being aware of their implied meaning. Vedanta puts us into a
whole new world of perception because it is so insistent on the correct and
conscious use of words – it teaches through the implied and not usually the
ostensible meaning of words. For self-inquiry to work, where the ostensible
meaning does not work, we must take the implied meaning, based on logic.
For instance, if we say that there is an identity between Isvara and
jiva, what do we mean? We can’t work this out with the ostensible meaning
of this statement, because Isvara is consciousness plus the world, and jiva
is consciousness plus the subtle body. Isvara is omniscient, and jiva only
knows its subjective reality. We must take the implied meaning by removing
all the non-essential variables to get to what is non-negatable, the fact that
both Isvara and jiva are awareness.

Mastering the art of communication is indeed crucial – I
have attached the link to a short video James made on this a few years back.
It covers the practice of mindfulness and restraint of speech, called vaktapas,
or sama and dama, control of thoughts and speech.
Assuming we want peace of mind, unless we bring awareness to this our lives in
the world will be very difficult because words truly are the source of all
misunderstanding between jivas.

Contacting Shining World

For years I have happily and diligently responded to communications on the topic of Self realization. Since the publication of my book, “How to Attain Enlightenment”— currently in its third printing —and the success of this website, the volume of emails has increased considerably. Unfortunately, owing to a busy schedule of teaching and writing, I am no longer able to answer all the emails I receive in a timely fashion. However, my wife, who is also a teacher, and several well-qualified teachers we have endorsed are available to answer emails on my behalf. I encourage you to send them your questions.
— James SwartzContact Us